Timothy F. Donovan
Agency patch
Patrolman

Timothy F. Donovan

Somerville Police Department — Somerville, MA
Accident
End of Watch November 13, 1942
Age 44
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
The Vigil Panel 79 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Timothy Donovan was struck and killed by a vehicle while investigating an accident at the Northern Artery Bridge.

He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Patrolman Donovan had served with the Somerville Police Department for five years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-CDD6291F
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Donovan gave the Somerville Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Somerville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Donovan.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Somerville, MA
Platform Identity spd.middlesex.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 13, 1942
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 44
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman Timothy F. Donovan is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MA, 158 of 469 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Somerville Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Somerville Police Department
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Accident
MA — Statewide
158
of 469 officers
33.7% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Timothy F. Donovan's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Timothy F. Donovan Compares

Age at End of Watch
44
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Timothy F. Donovan is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Somerville Police Department are honored on badge.nw.